The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling and handling bottles.
A standard bottling machine as described in German patent document 196 42 987 filed Oct. 18, 1996 by P. Gustafsson et al has a conveyor running along an annular path with straight lower and upper stretches. The conveyor is provided with a succession of holders each having eight basket-like seats capable of gripping eight bottles around their necks, with the bottles only and upright (i.e. with their necks up) in the upper stretch. The lower stretch is the return stretch where the seats return to the upstream end of the upper stretch upside-down and empty. Means is provided above the upper stretch for sterilizing, filling, and capping the bottles.
Such a machine is quite bulky. Space must be provided between the stretches of the conveyor and below its lower stretch to accommodate the bottles or their holders. More space is taken up above the upper stretch for the sterilizing, filling, and capping units. Thus if the machine is designed for use with tall bottles, it must have a height equal at least to twice the bottle height plus the height of the sterilizing, filling, and capping units.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved bottling machine.
Another object is the provision of such an improved bottling machine which overcomes the above-given disadvantages, that is which is very compact, even if used to process tall bottles.
A bottling apparatus has according to the invention a frame having a horizontally extending upper portion and a horizontally extending lower portion separated from the upper portion by an open space and an endless conveyor element on the frame having a horizontal lower stretch in the frame lower portion, an upper stretch above the space in the frame upper portion, and upstream and downstream upright stretches extending between and interconnecting upstream and downstream ends of the upper and lower stretches. A drive advances the element continuously in a horizontal transport direction in the lower stretch. A plurality of holders secured to the element each form a transverse row of seats adapted to fit snugly around necks of respective bottles which are loaded into the holders at the upstream end of the lower stretch with mouths of the bottles open upward into the space and the bottles hanging by their necks from the lower stretch. Machines or subassemblies carried on the frame lower portion in the space below the frame upper portion clean, fill, and cap bottles in the seats moving in the transport direction.
Thus with this system the bottle size need merely be accommodated underneath the lower conveyor stretch. Thus if enough clearance is provided there to accommodate the largest possible bottle, the same machine can be used for large and small bottles with no significant refitting. In addition since the bottle height does not have to be accommodated between the upper and lower conveyor stretches because the bottles are not moved in this area and they are held by their necks so no tall holders are used, the overall height of the machine can be reduced.
The frame forms below the lower portion a space accommodating bodies of the bottles hanging from the holders in the lower stretch. In addition the frame has upright end portions joining upstream and downstream ends of the frame upper and lower portions.
The bottling apparatus in accordance with the invention further has a center support extending through the space between the frame end portions and centrally supporting the frame upper portion on the frame lower portion. This center support is a portal extend transversely over the lower stretch.
The frame is hollow to accommodate steam and other feed lines, for instance for the sterilizing unit.
Upstream and downstream ends of the frame upper and lower portions are provided with wheels over which the conveyor is spanned. The drive is directly connected to only one of the wheels and the other wheels idle. The one drive wheel is at an end of the frame upper portion and the drive is a variable-speed electric servomotor.